THINGS seem to be going from bad to worse for East Lancashire.

This week has already seen Blackburn CD manufacturer EDC announce it will close its factory in December with the loss of 260 jobs.

Haslingden textile firm JH Birtwistle & Co, which has traded for 127 years, was placed in administration yesterday, putting at risk up to 102 jobs. And it was revealed that East Lancashire had lost out on millions of pounds worth of funding for vital housing projects.

Poor housing in the area has long been a barrier to its regeneration. That is why East Lancashire has been targeted by schemes such as Elevate.

Allowing homes to fall into disrepair can bring down prices of neighbouring properties and mean that no-one wants to live in an area.

Pendle is the area worst affected by the funding cut with its budget being reduced by £1.1million to £1.5million. County Councillor David Whipp said the reduction was “a disaster” and would mean housing projects would have to be halted.

It is understandable that the government is looking to make savings at this difficult time but this is not the right area.

There seems to be a bottomless pit of cash when it comes to saving the banks, but not for regenerating deprived area.

Our MPs need to start lobbying at the highest level to see if they can get the government to reverse its decision.